What do teen girls with Tourette syndrome–like tics in upstate New York, U.S. military and intelligence officials with an array of mysterious complaints, some victims of mass poisonings in girls schools across Iran, and Salem girls accused of witchcraft have in common? All may have experienced mass psychogenic events—better known as hysteria.
All also appear in Hysterical, a new podcast from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios. The teens displaying tics in LeRoy, New York, are the main focus of the show, which takes us on a medical mystery tour of their symptoms, diagnoses, and treatments.
Some, including the famed activist Erin Brockovich, suspect environmental causes. Others think it's the result of an immune system gone haywire. The authorities' official diagnosis—mass psychogenic illness—doesn't sit well with many of the patients or their families.
Who can blame them? It's easy to look at the sexist history of hysteria diagnoses and conclude the whole business is bunk.
But Hysterical suggests not only that mass psychogenic illness is likely the right diagnosis but also that it sometimes takes shape in ways that most—especially those caught in its grips—wouldn't label as hysteria. See, for instance, the mysterious "Havana syndrome" that hit intelligence, military, and diplomatic officials for several years. Hysteria may be all around us, if we only open our eyes to it.
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